Lift and swinging device for a steerable propeller

ABSTRACT

A steerable propeller for a watercraft having a guide secured to the watercraft and a carriage slidably secured to the guide and supported for vertical movement. A housing is pivotally secured to the carriage and is pivotable between first and second positions. The housing includes means having a propeller rotatably secured thereto which extends below the waterline when the housing is in the first position. First drive means are provided for raising and lowering the carriage in the guide to effect a depth adjustment of the propeller. Second drive means are provided for moving the housing at least toward the second position. Cooperating means are adapted to cooperate with the first and second drive means to permit a movement of the housing, including the means having the propeller, to the second position, the second position being spaced at least 180* from the first position.

United States Patent Krautkremer [541 LIFT AND SWINGING DEVICE FOR A STEERABLE PROPELLER [72] Inventor: Franz Krautkremer, 1m Muhren,

- Germany .[73] Assignee: Schattel of America Inc., Miami,

Fla.

[22] Filed: June 8, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 44,368

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 15, 1970 Germany ..P 20 23949.0

[451 Aug. 15, 1972 Germany ..1 15/41 Italy ..1 15/41 1 1 ABSTRACT A steerable propeller for a watercraft having a guide secured to the watercraft and a carriage slidably secured to the guide and supported for vertical movement. A housing is pivotally secured to the carriage and is pivotable between first and second positions. The housing includes means having a propeller rotatably secured thereto which extends below the waterline when the housing is in the first position. First drive means are provided for raising and lowering the carriage in the guide to effect a depth adjustment of the propeller. Second drive means are provided for moving the housing at least toward the second position. Cooperating means are adapted to cooperate with the first and second drive means to permit a movement of the housing, including the means having the propeller, to the second position, the second position being spaced at least 180 from the first position.

8 Claim, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAUB 15 1912 3.683. 841

SHhEI 1 BF 3 a Q (W ATTO LIFT AND SWINGING DEVICE FOR A STEERABLE PROPELLER The invention relates to a lift and swinging device for a steerable propeller on a watercraft in which a housing which extends underneath the waterline and contains drive transfer elements carries a propeller which, for the purpose of steering, is rotatable about anaxis of rotation which is vertical in manual operating position. Said housing is adjustable for depth along said axis and the housing can be swung about an approximately horizontal axis out of the water.

A lift and swinging device of the above-described type is already known in which the propeller can be swung out of the water at approximately only 609 (German Pat. No. l 260 335). This device has the disadvantage that the assembly containing the steerable propeller, which assembly consists for example of a frame, the motor, the power transfer mechanism, the control device and the steerable propeller, can be stored and transported only with difficulty because the steerable propeller extends both in the normal condition and in the swung-out condition under the bottom edge of the frame or if this should not be the case in the swung-out condition projects out to the back. Both conditions interfere with the storing and the loadingof the assembly.

The basic purpose of the invention is to come up with the possibility to better load and store an assembly of the above-described type.

The invention is based on the concept that from this standpoint it is most advantageous if the propeller can be swung out upwardly at 180 because then the steera- I ble propeller does not extend downwardly over the frame and the assembly requires the smallest storing area. The more narrow purpose relates therefore to a lift and swinging device which permits this swinging angle to be obtained in a highly advantageous manner in which theswinging device can also be used for other purposes. A further purpose is to enable the steerable propeller to be used for vehicles with changing draft, that is, that it must have a draft adjusting device.

To attain the basic purpose, the invention provides that the swinging of the assembly out of the water is divided into two partial movements. The one partial movement is driven by a'drive mechanism which on one side engages a depth adjustable carriage and on the other side engages the housing to be swung out. The other partial movement is effected by another drive mechanism for the depth adjustment, which drive mechanism engages on one side the depth adjustable carriage and on the other side engages the frame.

An operationally very advantageous embodiment of the invention is obtained when the housing is swingable around a shaft supported in the depth adjustable frame and is lockable movably in the frame after the first partial movement. It is particularly advantageous when the housing rests so to speak loosely on the drive element of the first partial movement, for example a piston rod or an element connected therewith, so that it can depart from this rest position during the second partial movement without requiring a special handling herefor.

A simple unit is obtained if the drive mechanisms are conventional hydraulic or pneumatic lift cylinders.

In order for the steerable propeller to be securely supported in operating position, but yet be released easily for the swinging-out movement, the invention is advantageously further constructed in such a manner that the housing is held in operating position by an arbitrarily releasable lock lever.

The operational safety of the unit is furthermore promoted in such a manner that the lock lever is resiliently maintained in engagement, but automatically releasable, in order that the steerable propeller can yield when it touches the bottom.

A further advantageous characteristic of the invention is that the drive transfer elements can be separated from the propeller drive and the control drive .by couplings.

Further advantages and characteristics of the invention are disclosed in the following description.

The invention is discussed in connection with FIGS. 1 to 8.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of one example for the assembly according to the invention.

FIG. 2 illustrates as a detail in an enlarged scale the housing of a steerable propeller with a drive according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view along the line III-Ill of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates as a detail one example for a lock lever according to the invention.

FIGS. 5 to 8 illustrate different steps of the swing-out process.

FIG. 1 illustrates as an example for the invention an assembly which contains a frame 10, a motor 11, an output shaft 12, a steerable propeller 13, a steering unit 14 and a control shaft 15 and which can be mounted onto a boat 16 to drive and control same.

Steerable propellers are known and therefore need not be described. A vertical guide .17 is arranged at one end on the frame l0,'in which guide a carriage 18 is supported for both upward and downward movement. One or two lift cylinders 19 are provided for the drive of the carriage 18. A piston 21 provided with a piston rod 20 is guided in a conventional manner in said lift cylinders. The piston rod is on one side pivotally connectedto the carriage by a pin 22 and the cylinder ispivotally connected to the frame or the guide by a pin 23. The housing 24 which contains the drive elements (not illustrated) for the propeller 26 which extend below the waterline 25, is swingably suspended in the carriage 18 by means of a substantially horizontally positioned shaft 27. Two levers 28 are supported laterally of the housing 24 on the same shaft 27, which levers are connected by a bolt .29 or the like. Thus, when the housing 24 is in operating position itrests on the bolt 29. A flange or a pair of flanges 30 is arranged on the upper part of the housing 24, which flange or pair of flanges is provided with an. opening 31 for a bolt. A piston rod 33 each is pivotally connected to the free end of the levers 28 by means of pins 32, said piston rod carrying in a conventional manner at its lower end a piston 34 which is guided in a lift cylinder 35. The lift cylinder is pivotally connected to the carriage by a pin 36. The housing 24 is thus supported on the piston 34 in the lift cylinder 35. The levers 28 or the bolts 29 can be supported additionally on the carriage 18 during the operating position. An arm 36A is secured to the frame, said arm having a link guide 37 or the like. When the housing is swung upwardly at 180, the opening 31 for the bolt and the link guide fit together. The supply lines for the lift cylinders and the elements for their supply are known and are therefore not illustrated.

When in operating position the housing 24 of the steerable propeller is positioned in a receiving means 38. The housing is, in the zone of said receiving means, provided with a transversely positioned bolt 39 which can be engaged by a lock lever 40. The lock lever is supported in the carriage and is loaded by a spring 41 in the direction of engagement with the bolt. The lock lever has two arms. The free arm 40' is engaged by a two-arm lever 42 which is supported in the frame. A rod 43 which can be moved by means of a pedal 44 is hinged to the free end of the two-arm lever.

The steerable propeller is driven by the motor 11 through the output shaft 12. A releasable coupling 46 is provided between the shaft and the drive shaft 45 leading into the housing 24, one half of said coupling being schematically illustrated in form of an example in FIG. 6. The swinging of the propeller which is required for steering the boat is driven for example by a steering wheel 47, the movement of which is transferred through a chain drive 48 and the control shaft to the corresponding .drive elements in the housing which are known and therefore not illustrated. A releasable coupling 50 is provided between the control shaft and the input shaft 49 in the housing, one half of said coupling being schematically illustrated in FIG. 6. This coupling can be a conventional single-tooth coupling in order not to interfere with the relative position between steering wheel and steerable propeller during the swinging out of the water.

In order for the propeller always to have an optimum water depth at'different drafts of the boat, the steerable propeller can be adjusted downwardly by means of the carriage which can be driven by the lift cylinder 19.

When the steerable propeller touches the bottom while it is propelling the boat, the lock lever 40 can release against the pressure of the spring 41 and the steerable propeller can swing rearwardly.

The lift and swinging device operates as follows:

FIG. schematically illustrates the steerable propeller in operating position. For swinging same out of the water, the lock lever 40 is first disconnected from the steerable propeller by operating the pedal 44. The lift cylinders 35 are thereafter fed by pressure means, air or oil or the like, and the piston pushes the pair of levers 28, the bolt 29 and the housing 24 up wardly through the piston rod 33 until the housing has formed approximately an angle of l40 starting from the operating position (FIG. 6). The couplings 46, 50 are thereby released automatically. The lift cylinders 19 are thereafter fed by pressure means which move the carriage l8 downwardly until the opening 31 covers the link guide 37. Both are locked through a bolt or the has thus in the final position performed a swinging movement of 180.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclu' sive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows: I

l. A steerable propeller for a watercraft, comprising: a guide secured to said watercraft;

a carriage slidably secured to said guide and supported forvertical movement;

a housing pivotally secured to said carriage and pivotable about means defining a horizontal axis between first and second positions, said housing including means having a propeller rotatably secured thereto extending below the waterline when said housing is in said first position;

first drive means for raising and lowering said carriage in said guide to effect a depth adjustment of said propeller;

second drive means for moving said housing about said horizontal axis between said first position and an intermediate position spaced from said second position; and

cooperating means adapted to cooperate with said first drive means to permit a movement of said housing, including the means having the propeller, between said intermediate position and said second position, said second position being spaced at least l from said first position.

2. A steerable propeller according to claim 1, including means for rotatably driving said propeller and releasable coupling means for coupling said driving 3. In a lift and swinging device for a steerable propeller steerable by a steering control on a watercraft having a housing which extends beneath the waterline and contains drive transfer elements and carries a propeller which, for the purpose of steering, is rotatable about an axis of rotation which is vertical in operating position and depth adjustable carriage means for adjusting the depth of said propeller in direction of said axis and support means for supporting the housing for movement about an approximately horizontal axis out of the water, wherein the improvement comprises drive means for swinging said propeller out of the water, said swinging movement being divided into two partial and separate movements, the one of which being driven by a first drive mechanism which on one side is connected to the depth adjustable carriage means and on the other side is connected to the housing, the other partial movement being driven by a second drive mechanism for adjusting said depth adjustable carriage means, said other drive mechanism being connected on one side to the depth adjustable carriage means and on the other side to the frame.

4. Device according to claim 3, wherein the housing is swingable around a shaft supported on the depth adjustable carriage and includes means for releasably locking said housing to the frame after the firstpartial movement.

5. Device according to claim 3, wherein the drive mechanisms are conventional hydraulic or pneumatic lift cylinders.

6. Device according to claim 3, wherein the housing is held in operating position by selectively releasable catch means.

7. Device according to claim 6, wherein the selectively releasable catch means is maintained in resilient engagement but is automatically releasable. 

1. A steerable propeller for a watercraft, comprising: a guide secured to said watercraft; a carriage slidably secured to said guide and supported for vertical movement; a housing pivotally secured to said carriage and pivotable about means defining a horizontaL axis between first and second positions, said housing including means having a propeller rotatably secured thereto extending below the waterline when said housing is in said first position; first drive means for raising and lowering said carriage in said guide to effect a depth adjustment of said propeller; second drive means for moving said housing about said horizontal axis between said first position and an intermediate position spaced from said second position; and cooperating means adapted to cooperate with said first drive means to permit a movement of said housing, including the means having the propeller, between said intermediate position and said second position, said second position being spaced at least 180* from said first position.
 2. A steerable propeller according to claim 1, including means for rotatably driving said propeller and releasable coupling means for coupling said driving means to said propeller when said housing is in said first position, said coupling means being automatically released upon a movement of said housing toward said second position.
 3. In a lift and swinging device for a steerable propeller steerable by a steering control on a watercraft having a housing which extends beneath the waterline and contains drive transfer elements and carries a propeller which, for the purpose of steering, is rotatable about an axis of rotation which is vertical in operating position and depth adjustable carriage means for adjusting the depth of said propeller in direction of said axis and support means for supporting the housing for movement about an approximately horizontal axis out of the water, wherein the improvement comprises drive means for swinging said propeller out of the water, said swinging movement being divided into two partial and separate movements, the one of which being driven by a first drive mechanism which on one side is connected to the depth adjustable carriage means and on the other side is connected to the housing, the other partial movement being driven by a second drive mechanism for adjusting said depth adjustable carriage means, said other drive mechanism being connected on one side to the depth adjustable carriage means and on the other side to the frame.
 4. Device according to claim 3, wherein the housing is swingable around a shaft supported on the depth adjustable carriage and includes means for releasably locking said housing to the frame after the first partial movement.
 5. Device according to claim 3, wherein the drive mechanisms are conventional hydraulic or pneumatic lift cylinders.
 6. Device according to claim 3, wherein the housing is held in operating position by selectively releasable catch means.
 7. Device according to claim 6, wherein the selectively releasable catch means is maintained in resilient engagement but is automatically releasable.
 8. Device according to claim 3, wherein the drive transfer elements include releasable coupling means for releasably coupling the propeller drive and steering control drive to the propeller and the steering control, respectively. 